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Your connection to industry & member news | Dec. 11, 2025
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Thanks to everyone who entered the 2025 News Contest! We're getting the entries ready for judging and will provide a full contest report in next week's eBulletin, but it appears 2025 will be a record year for participation with entries from more than 90 news, associate, individual and collegiate organizations! Contest entries head off to Virginia in early 2026 for judging and we hope to have winners back for proofing by the end of January. Awards will be presented March 6, 2026 in Columbia!
Let's also give a big hand to roughly 50 SCPA members who just wrapped up judging Kentucky Press Association's News and Advertising Contests. While the judging assignments went out a little later than expected, we're so thankful for our volunteer judges who make our reciprocal judging swaps possible.
Believe it or not, it's almost time to judge again...Our contest swap partner for 2026 is Virginia Press Association, and we'll need roughly 80 folks to volunteer as judges for their News and Ad Contests. And before you stop reading, consider that we will not ask you to judge another state's contest again until fall 2027!
Judging will take place between Jan. 28 - Feb. 25, 2026. More details coming in next week's eBulletin!
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Brewer-Tyson retires from Pageland Progressive Journal
After over a decade with the Pageland Progressive Journal, Vanessa Brewer-Tyson says her retirement with the newspaper this month is bittersweet.
“It’s been very rewarding working as a part-time reporter with the PPJ for the past 10 years,” Vanessa remarked. “I’ve met some amazing people, and I’ve made so many memories covering events in the town and neighboring communities.”
The Pageland native, who is also a retired teacher with the Chesterfield County School District, says she loves her hometown and the sense of community it has.
“Being able to give back to my community has helped to give me self-worth,” she said. “Although I am feeling a little sadness, I’m excited about the next chapter in my life.”
Reflecting back over the years, Vanessa said she has experienced a lot of changes with the PPJ. She has worked under three publishers, two editors, and two different owners of the newspaper, including Landmark Community Newspapers and current owner, Paxton Media Group.
Shortly after she retired from teaching school in June 2015, Kim Harrington, editor of the PPJ at the time, approached her about working part-time at the newspaper. Since she had taught fifth grade Language Arts at Ruby Elementary for nearly 29 years and had been a correspondent for The Link Newspaper for three years, she accepted the offer and started working with the PPJ that July.
By Kevin Smith, Pageland Progressive Journal | Read more
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Browning to deliver FMU commencement address
P.J. Browning, Chief Executive Officer of Evening Post Publishing and President and Publisher of The Post and Courier, will deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree at Francis Marion University’s Fall 2025 commencement ceremony. The event will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 13, in the Smith University Center.
Students from the College of Liberal Arts and Schools of Business, Education, and Health Sciences will receive their degrees during the ceremony. Each graduate will be allowed eight guests, and a ticket is required for entry. Guests without tickets may watch the livestream in Chapman Auditorium. The ceremony will also be streamed online and on the FMU YouTube channel.
Browning has built a distinguished career dedicated to serving communities through journalism. She began her career at the News-Leader in Springfield, Missouri, after graduating from Missouri State University, and has since held leadership roles across the country, including serving as president and publisher of The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and The Telegraph in Macon, Ga.
In 2013, she joined The Post and Courier, South Carolina’s oldest daily newspaper, as publisher and president. During her tenure, the newspaper has successfully adapted to the evolving media landscape, expanding its digital presence, launching podcasts, and opening new bureaus across the state, including The Post and Courier Pee Dee, which employs student interns from FMU in both the newsroom and business operations.
Under Browning’s leadership, The Post and Courier received the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service for its groundbreaking series, “Till Death Do Us Part,” which exposed the high rate of domestic violence in South Carolina and spurred legislative reform.
Her contributions to journalism have earned numerous honors, including Publisher of the Year by Editor and Publisher in 2019 and Executive of the Year by the Inter American Press Association in 2023. Browning has also devoted her time to a number of professional and community organizations including the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, America’s Newspaper Foundation, the South Carolina Press Association, and Trident United Way. Read more
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Osteen named to S.C. Lottery Board of Commissioners
South Carolina Education Lottery Commission introduced two new board members at its quarterly meeting. John D. "Jack" Osteen, of Sumter, and Frances "Francie" Daniel Austin, of Charleston, will each help support the Lottery's mission to responsibly raise money to improve education in South Carolina.
"We are so excited to announce these new members to our Board of Commissioners," said South Carolina Education Lottery Chief Executive Officer Dolly Garfield. "The diverse talents and experiences they bring to the table will not only benefit our work but fuel efforts that will allow our state to thrive."
Osteen is co-owner of The Sumter Item, serving as editor and publisher from 2005 to 2018. He co-owns Osteen Publishing Co. and owns The Lexington County Chronicle, The Bluffton Sun, The Hilton Head Sun and The Daniel Island News. He is also a co-owner of a group of newspapers in Baldwin County, Alabama. Osteen is a commercial real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Commercial Cornerstone in Sumter specializing in Senior Housing and was named to the Bronze Circle of Distinction in 2024. A Sumter native, Osteen has served as chairman of the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce (2015 Businessperson of the Year), president of the Sumter Rotary Club (2015 Rotarian of the Year), president of the South Carolina Press Association, president of the YMCA board and chairman of the United Way Board. In 2016, he was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Public Service Award. He currently serves as the chair of the economic restructuring committee for Downtown Sumter, as well as a member of the Sumter Economic Development Board and Sumter EDGE. He is a graduate of both Leadership Sumter and Leadership South Carolina. Osteen is a graduate of Woodberry Forest High School in Virginia and a graduate of the University of South Carolina.
From the S.C. Lottery Commission | Read more
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Blythewood Town Council looking to stem Manor bleed
Prior to voting to go into executive session at the Nov, 24, 2025, town council meeting, no clarification or information was provided to the public concerning what council would be discussing in secret or why council wanted the discussion to be in secret.
Instead, Mayor Sloan Griffin read the executive session agenda item verbatim: “Discussion of negotiations incident to proposed contractual arrangements for assessment and recommendations regarding Manor operations to establish a financial break-even operational business plan. (Requested by Ed Driggers, Interim Town Administrator.)”
According to Media Attorney Jay Bender, who represents The Voice newspaper, the agenda item was misleading.
“Unless there was a specific item referencing the issue in open session, consideration of a motion and vote were improper,” Bender said.
Upon returning to open session, Councilman Rich McKenrick made a motion for the Town of Blythewood to enter into an agreement with Parker Poe Consulting for a business operations optimization analysis in an amount not to exceed $52,000 for phases one and two.
“Based on the post-executive-session motion, the executive session was for an impermissible purpose as there were no previously authorized negotiations regarding a contract [agreement] for the analysis or operations,” Bender said.
“If there was not an item on the public agenda for entering into a contract regarding the Manor, then voting on a contract regarding the Manor would have been improper,” Bender said. “How did the mayor describe the purpose of the executive session? That, rather than the agenda item, determines the legality of the executive session.”
By Barbara Ball, The Voice of Blythewood | Read more
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By Brandon Roberts, Summerville Journal Scene
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| Community newspapers are rebounding – here’s why it matters
For years, the obituary for community newspapers seemed all but written. Industry analysts declared print dead. Advertising dollars migrated online. Readers turned to social media, where information spread faster – though not always more accurately. But here’s the truth that has emerged quietly, steadily and unmistakably: community newspapers are not dying. They’re evolving – and in many places, they’re experiencing a rebirth.
Across the country, small-town and suburban papers are finding new energy as people rediscover something they lost when local news disappeared: trust, connection and a sense of belonging. When the algorithm feeds you anger, a community paper offers understanding. When national news feels distant, local news feels personal.
Why now? Because trust and proximity matter. People want stories about their schools, their neighbors, their local heroes and their councils. They want to read about school board decisions, zoning changes, Friday-night lights, ribbon cuttings and road closures – the things that make a community feel like home. National noise can’t replace the feeling of opening a paper and seeing your community reflected with care and clarity. Read more
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